When the Fire is Lit
by foreveranna
Summary: Friendships that span decades are just the beginning... (First in the series "The Callahan Chronicles," an OC-driven series)
1. Late May 2129 - The First Meeting

**_Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.  
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.  
Getting to know you, putting it my way but nicely,  
You are precisely my cup of tea._**

The sand was unusually easy to work with, and Sara was happily filling her bucket and turning it upside down to make towers in a corner of the sandbox. She looked up at her mother and smiled a bright three-year-old smile and waved back when her mother waved at her. Her mother pointed at a little girl and a boy who was clearly her older brother in another corner of the large sandbox, clearly intending that Sara should go and try to make friends, but Sara shook her head. She was still wary of the children in their new neighborhood, especially Bobby, who was sitting a few feet away from the girl and her brother. She didn't like Bobby. He was in her preschool class and always pulled her hair.

"Hey!" she heard a familiar voice yell. Sara turned around and her smile disappeared. Bobby was coming over. Sara instinctively moved in front of her sandcastle, which wasn't very big, but was still something she was proud of and didn't want Bobby to destroy. "Gimme your bucket," he said loudly, trying to grab the bucket from Sara's hands.

"You gotta say please!" Sara said, clutching the bucket to her. "Say please and I share, I promise!"

Bobby glared at her, then reached out and yanked a handful of Sara's red curls. "I said, gimme your bucket!"

Sara started crying. "That hurt!" she whimpered. "I gonna tell my mommy. MOMMY!"

Bobby was about to pull another handful of curls, when suddenly he was on the ground. Sara looked up and saw the little girl from the other side of the sandbox standing next to her and glaring at Bobby, who was on the ground holding the side of his face.

"You hit me!" he said, looking surprised.

"You leave her alone!" the other girl said. "Stop pulling her hair! You made her cry! Her mommy is gonna come over and beat you up. Now go away before I tell our teacher tomorrow!"

Bobby got up and ran away, looking terrified at the other girl. The other little girl sat down next to Sara and looked kindly at her. "Is your head OK?" she asked.

Sara nodded. "It hurts, but I am OK," she said. "Are you in the same class as me and Bobby?"

The girl nodded. "You just started, right? My name is Elizabeth. I'm three."

"My name is Sara. We're the same age!"

The older boy came over and shook his head at Elizabeth. "Lizzie, you aren't supposed to hit people," he said, looking disapprovingly at Elizabeth.

"But Trip, he was hurting her!" Elizabeth protested. "He tried to take her bucket and pulled her hair and made her cry! I had to stop him!" She turned to Sara and said "That's my brother Trip. He's eight."

"Hi," Sara said, looking at her shoes. She wasn't sure she wanted to be around older kids who weren't her own brother and sister, especially when she didn't know them.

"Are you OK?" Trip asked her. Sara nodded. "Are you sure?" Sara nodded again.

"I'm OK," she said in a small voice.

Trip studied the small girl sitting next to his sister for a moment. "This wasn't the first time he pulled your hair, was it?" he asked.

Sara shook her head. "He does it all the time because I'm the new kid."

Trip reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, then handed it to Sara. "Here," he said. "For your eyes."

Sara hesitated, then took the tissue and wiped her eyes with it. "Thank you," she said. She looked up and saw her mother coming over, followed by another woman who looked like Elizabeth. "Is that your mommy?" she asked.

"That's our mommy," Elizabeth said happily. "I think our mommies are friends now."

Trip, older and slightly wiser, read something different in his mother's expression. "Uh, Lizzie, I think you might be in trouble. Mom doesn't look happy."

"Well, I'll tell the truth. Then she won't be mad."

Their mothers reached them at the same time, and after getting the story from all three children, it was decreed that nobody was getting punished that day. It was also decided that since they lived right next door, Elizabeth and Trip were welcome to come over anytime they wanted.

"I think we are gonna be best friends, Sara," Elizabeth said as they toddled out of the park.

"I think so too," Sara said. And for the first time in forever, she wasn't shy.


	2. Early May 2132 - Spying On The Dance

**_We were so in phase in our dance hall days_**

**_We were cool on craze_**

**_When I, you and everyone, we knew_**

**_Could believe, do and share in what was true_**

"You be a good girl," Jennie Callahan said as her youngest daughter rushed down the stairs and out the front door.

Sara stopped and turned to face her mother, her braids whipping around as she did. She ran back and hugged her mother, then said "I'm always good. Has Lizzie's mom ever complained?"

"Let's make sure she never has cause to complain," Jennie said, smoothing back a lock of her daughter's hair. "Now, do you have your pajamas?"

"Yes."

"Toothbrush?"

"Yes."

"Clean clothes for tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"OK, you can go. And make sure you thank Mrs. Tucker for letting you sleep over!"

"I will!" Sara yelled, running out the door with her backpack slung over her shoulder and clutching her pillowcase in one hand. Inside the pillowcase was her pillow and her favorite stuffed toy, a small animal that looked like a bear wearing an orange hood that had belonged to her great-grandmother.

Before she was halfway across the front yard, the door to the house next door opened and Elizabeth appeared on the porch. "Come on," she yelled, waving Sara into the house. "You have to see this."

"What?" Sara asked, slipping out of her shoes at the front door. "What's going on?"

"Trip," Elizabeth said with a giggle. "There's a dance at his school today, and he's all dressed up!"

Sara blinked. "No way," she said, shaking her head. "He hates dressing up!"

"It's because MELISSA is going to be there," Elizabeth said, exaggerating the name and giggling to herself. An angry voice came from the next room.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY ELIZABETH!"

Sara dissolved into giggles. "I think it is," she said quietly, following Elizabeth into the living room. When she looked up, she started laughing hysterically. "A bow tie?"

Trip glared at the giggling six year olds. "You think it's too much?" he asked. "I think bow ties are cool."

"I think bow ties are lame," Elizabeth said, sticking her tongue out at her brother, causing Sara to burst out giggling again.

"What do you think, Sara?"

Sara stopped laughing and quickly studied the 11 year old in front of her. "Well," she said, walking slowly around Trip. "I think it looks good, but I think maybe a regular tie? Mom always says Daddy looks the best when he's wearing a regular tie."

"Who says I'm dressing up especially for anyone?"

Sara just stared at Trip and raised an eyebrow. "I'm six, not stupid," she said.

Trip opened his mouth to respond when there was a flurry of footsteps on the stairs and Phillip, Trip and Elizabeth's oldest brother, came down the stairs and into the living room.

"Hey smidge," Phillip said, ruffling Elizabeth's hair. He grinned at Sara and gently flicked one of her braids. "Nice to see you, Little Red. Staying the night?"

Sara grinned & nodded. Phillip was the same age as her brother JJ, and one of the only people outside of her family allowed to call her "Little Red." She wasn't as shy as she'd been before, but she still didn't feel comfortable around many older kids, especially teenagers. Rather than the nuisance her brother's friends seemed to find her, Phillip treated her like she was another little sister, and Sara was very all right with that.

"Brought my pillow and everything," Sara said. She turned to Elizabeth and grinned. "I also brought that thing I've been telling you about."

"Oh cool!" Elizabeth said, clapping her hands. "I can't wait to see it!"

"And what is this thing?" Phillip asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a toy that belonged to my great-grandmother Bethan," Sara said. "My nain Rosa gave it to me when I was a baby. That's Welsh for grandmother."

"I like your grandma," Elizabeth said. "She tells funny stories. But we have something more important to do right now, and that's make sure my brother doesn't go to the dance looking like a dork."

"I DON'T LOOK LIKE A DORK!" Trip shouted.

"Not completely," Phillip said. "That bow tie, though…"

"I think he should try a regular tie," Sara ventured again.

"You know what, Little Red? I think you're right," Phillip said. He ran upstairs and then returned less than a minute later with a red tie. "Here, this'll make you look more like a man and less like an old man." In moments, the bow tie was exchanged for the regular red tie, and it was generally agreed that the switch was a good idea.

"Trip, it's time to go," his mother yelled from another room. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, mom," he said. He said goodbye to his siblings and Sara and then walked out of the room. Shortly after that, Mrs. Tucker walked into the room.

"Lizzie, your father and I are going out for the night after we drop Trip off. You and Sara be good for Phillip, all right?" The two girls nodded, and Mrs. Tucker smiled at both of them. "You're always good girls. I know you won't give Phillip any trouble. Now, if Phillip gives YOU any trouble…"

"Mom, I'll behave too, I promise."

"Good," Mrs. Tucker responded. "Have a good night kids!"

"We will!" Elizabeth yelled.

"Thanks for letting me sleep over!" Sara yelled, making sure to follow her mother's orders before she forgot.

The door closed and the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway signaled it was time for the fun to begin. "OK kid, let's see that toy," Phillip said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious myself."

Sara reached into her pillowcase and pulled out a small, bearlike object about seven inches long. It had big brown eyes and brown lips, was wearing an orange hood, and was in remarkably good condition for being almost 150 years old. "His name is Wicket," she said, stroking the fur. "My great-grandma got him when she was 2 or 3."

"He's so cute!" Elizabeth said. "What kind of bear is he?"

"He's an Ewok, isn't he?" Phillip asked.

Sara nodded happily. "Yeah, he's an Ewok," she said. "He's from a movie that came out when my great-grandma was little." She held Wicket out to Elizabeth. "You can play with him if you want."

"Be careful, Lizzie," Phillip warned his sister as she gently took the toy from her friend. "He's almost 150 years old, if I've done the math right."

"My great-grandma and my nain and my dad took really good care of him," Sara said proudly. "That's why he still looks brand new like."

Elizabeth cuddled the little plushie. "He's so soft!" she said. With an approving nod from Sara, she handed him to Phillip, who promptly made the toy dance on Sara's head and say "Yub nub," to the amusement of the two girls.

After some quality playtime with Wicket, during which Phillip explained the movie that the toy came from, and a few slices of pizza, the girls were starting to get restless.

"What should we do now?" Sara asked.

"It's too late to go to the playground, or I'd say we go play on the monkey bars," Elizabeth said.

"It's too late to go without supervision," Phillip said. "But luckily, you two ladies have adult supervision right here. Get your coats. While we're there, we can also spy on the dance."

"Ooh, that's right!" Elizabeth said happily. "The playground is right next to the school!"

A short walk later, the girls were playing happily on the monkey bars while Phillip tried to find the best place to watch the dance. After a while, Phillip came over to the bars, where Sara and Elizabeth were both hanging upside down.

"OK little monkeys," he said. "See those benches over there?" The girls nodded upside-down. "If you stand on those benches, you can see inside the school windows, right into the gym where the dance is." The girls immediately dropped down from the bars and ran over to the benches. Phillip helped them climb up, and they stood on tiptoes and looked in the windows.

"I see my sister!" Sara said excitedly. She pointed to a girl with brown braids and a sunny yellow dress, who was talking animatedly to a girl in a red dress.

"She's talking to Melissa!" Elizabeth said with a giggle. "Trip thinks Melissa is cute."

"And there's our dear brother," Phillip said, pointing to a corner of the gym. "Wonder how long he's been standing there."

"Your sister's dress is really pretty, Sara," Elizabeth said, ignoring the implications of Phillip's comment.

"Adelle has the prettiest things," Sara sighed, resting her chin on the window sill. Suddenly, a flurry of movement caused her to raise her head quickly.

"What is it?" Elizabeth said.

"TEACHERS!" Sara shouted. Phillip and Elizabeth looked, and sure enough, two teachers had spotted them and were headed towards the windows. Sara and Elizabeth hopped down from the benches and started running, followed closely by Phillip, and they didn't stop until they were in the Tucker backyard.

"OK kids," Phillip said, leaning against the back porch to catch his breath. "What's the story?"

"We were never there and we will never speak of this to anybody," Sara and Elizabeth said together.

Phillip nodded. "Good kids," he said, pushing the door open. "Let's get inside before Mom and Dad call."

As they walked inside, Sara giggled to Elizabeth "That was fun. We should do it again sometime!"

"There's another dance in the fall," Elizabeth said. "I think we should ask Phillip to babysit us again that night…"


	3. June 2144 - The Graduation Party

**_Even now it's hard to think back  
When did it all begin  
Was it some night drinking in Gay Browne's pub  
Every soul is welcomed in  
On this fine summers evening  
As the blue of night descends  
Never mind the strangers  
'Cos I'll always be your friend  
until the end_**

"Can you believe it? We actually did it!" Elizabeth shrieked, looking at the diploma in her hand. "We graduated!"

"I know!" Sara shrieked back, flailing her arms around wildly. "We're finally done! We're out!"

"And next comes college!" Phillip said, coming up behind them. Elizabeth hugged her oldest brother, who then hugged Sara and snatched the cap off her head.

"Normally I'd ask for that back, but you can have it!" Sara said with a laugh. "Just make sure JJ gets a chance to wear it. He'll never forgive you if you don't."

"And take a picture so Trip can see it the next time he's home," Elizabeth said. "He'll kick himself if he misses seeing pictures of Phillip and JJ wearing Sara's hat, since he couldn't actually be here."

Sara squeezed her friend's hand. She knew Elizabeth was missing her older brother, who was currently on a Starfleet mission and had been unable to make it back for the graduation. "I'll make sure we get a picture of it," she said as Phillip plunked the hat back down on Sara's head.

"Sara, Grandma's here!" a voice yelled from the front yard. Sara grinned at her friends and ran to the front of the house, following her sister's voice. She beamed as she watched her father help an elderly woman with grey-streaked red hair and brown eyes from his car.

"Grandma!" Sara yelled, running to the driveway. She stopped short of pouncing on the woman and enveloped her in a big warm hug.

"Hello, my Sara," Rosa Callahan said warmly, hugging her youngest grandchild. She pulled her granddaughter back and studied her with a smile. Of all her grandchildren, eighteen year old Sara was the only one who had inherited both her grandmother's hair color and brown eyes, but her smile was all Callahan, and fondly reminded Rosa of her late husband.

"Sut wyt ti? (How are you?)" Sara asked.

Rosa smiled. One of her husband's wishes was that their grandchildren learn to speak Welsh, and while many of her grandchildren had difficulty with the pronunciations, her son James' children all seemed to be naturals at it. "Rwy'n dda, hen ond yn dda. Chi? (I'm well. Old, but well. And you?)"

"Dda. Yn gynhyrfus. Ofnus. Mae llawer o bethau. (Well. Excited. Scared. A number of things.)"

"Dyna'r cyfan normal pan fyddwch yn graddio. Llongyfarchiadau fy cariad. (That's all normal when you graduate. Congratulations my love.)"

"Diolch. Taith galed? (Thank you. Was your trip difficult?)"

"Ddim mewn gwirionedd. Yr awyren yn roedd hawdd gyda stiwardiaid gwrywaidd yn hytrach ddeniadol. (Not very. The flight was easy and the male flight attendants were rather attractive.)" Rosa winked, and Sara laughed.

"Wirioneddol mam!? (Really, mother?)"James Callahan said, looking extremely embarrassed. "Really?"

"I'm not dead yet, James," Rosa said with another wink at her granddaughter. "I can still look!" By that time, Sara's brother and sister had joined them in the driveway, all receiving hugs from their grandmother.

"You look so handsome in your uniform," Rosa said to Sara's brother James, affectionately known as JJ. "Your grandfather would be so proud of you. His mother was a police officer too, you know."

"Mawr-nain (Great-grandma) Bethan was a cop?" James asked, sounding surprised. "I never knew that."

Rosa nodded. "She was with the FBI initially, with the Behavioral Analysis Unit as a liason, and then headed the Violent Crimes division of the NYPD in Brooklyn. Very dangerous, but she was very good at her job as I understand."

"What did mawr-taid (Great-grandpa) Ger do?" Adelle asked.

"He was a doctor," Rosa said. "Emergency room chief at a hospital in New York. It seems the desire to help people is a Callahan trait. You help parents who need somewhere safe to take their children during the day much like your great-aunt Cerys, who was a kindergarten teach, James is a police officer like your mawr-nain, and I understand that Sara wants to go into nursing. Is that correct?"

Sara nodded. "I want to help people," she said. "And I've got a talent for first aid. Elizabeth says that's as good a start as any."

"Where IS Elizabeth?" Rosa asked, looking around. "I was half expecting her to be right here at your hip. I haven't seen her in ages."

"She's in the backyard," Sara said, offering an arm to her grandmother.

Rosa smiled and took her granddaughter's arm. "Well, let's go see what her plans are, shall we?"

Sara escorted Rosa into the backyard and found her a chair under a large shady tree, then disappeared to find Elizabeth. She returned presently with her friend, who hugged Rosa immediately.

"And how are you, Elizabeth?" Rosa asked. It seemed that every time she'd come to visit her son and his family, the little neighbor girl and her brother had been over at the house, or Sara had been next door visiting them. In time, she'd come to view Elizabeth as another member of the family, and had become extremely fond of the girl.

"I'm good, Miss Rosa," Elizabeth said. "I'm glad you were able to make it today. It was all Sara's been able to talk about for weeks."

"I'm glad I was able to see the two of you graduate as well," Rosa replied with a smile. "It's a shame that they didn't prepare enough seating inside the actual ceremony. That cafeteria was dreadfully crowded. Were your brothers able to make it?"

"Phillip was, Trip wasn't," Elizabeth said. "Trip's on a mission, but Phillip's school is out for the summer, so he was able to come."

"Ah, that's right," Rosa said, remembering the respective positions of the Tucker brothers. "How is Phillip liking teaching?"

"I'm liking it quite well, Miss Rosa," Phillip said, joining them under the tree. "Good to see you!"

"And you as well, Phillip. You're teaching English, correct?"

"Correct. Apparently, I'm popular amongst the students. They named me Best New Teacher in the end-of-the-year edition of the school paper."

"Good, good. And Elizabeth, I hear you've been accepted to the same school my Sara has?"

"Yup," Elizabeth said with a grin. "I requested her as a roommate too. She's the only person I could room with that I'm sure I wouldn't hate."

"And we've slept at each other's houses enough times over the years that we know each other's weird habits already, so it won't ruin the friendship," Sara said with a grin.

"Have you any idea what you'd like to do there?" Rosa asked. "It doesn't have to be a concrete idea. A vague idea works just as well."

"Well, I have a concrete idea, ironically enough. I want to be an architect. I love designing things, and our bridges always won for holding the most weight in science class over the years, so I think I have a good shot at making it in the field."

Rosa nodded her approval. "An excellent idea," she pronounced. "And if you happen to find anyone you think would make a good husband for my granddaughter, do not hesitate to introduce them."

Sara laughed. "Grandma, I'm only 18!"

"Your mawr-nain and mawr-taid were only 18 when they got married," Rosa pointed out. "And I was several decades younger than your grandfather when we married. Experience as much as college has to offer that you can, but if you find someone you think you can spend the rest of your life with, don't let them pass you by. And also, return the favor if Elizabeth finds you someone."

"Agreed," Sara said, rolling her eyes a little.

"Sara Bethan Callahan, don't you roll your eyes at me," Rosa said, pretending to be stern. "Now, someone get me a camera. I have a strange feeling that you two want a picture of Phillip wearing someone's graduation cap…"


	4. May 17th, 2145 - Sara's Wedding

**_Through space and time  
Always another show  
Wondering where I am  
Lost without you_**

**_I'm forever yours_**

**_Ever yours_**

**_Faithfully_**

Sara had dismissed her bridal party and was standing in a small room off the main chapel by herself, staring at her own reflection.

The young woman looking back at her was almost, to her belief, unrecognizable. She wore a long white dress with a skirt that flared out like the ball gowns she'd seen in pictures as a child and sleeves that tapered at the end and a lace veil held onto her head by a circlet of roses. Her hair was piled neatly on top of her head, with two loose curls framing her face. In her ears were small diamonds, and around her neck was a necklace with a ring hanging from the chain. Her fingernails were painted a pretty shade of blue, and there was a hint of blush on her cheeks. She was beautiful.

Sara could hardly believe that the person in the mirror was her. She looked so different, so grown up…and so nervous she could barely stand.

She knew Andrew loved her, and from the moment they'd met, she knew she would love him. Elizabeth had invited her to join some of her classmates from the architecture program for a celebratory lunch, and it had been somewhat awkward until Andrew had shown up. Sara had met very few of the architecture students before, and the ones she did know hadn't shown up, so the lunch had consisted of Elizabeth and her classmates jabberingly on happily to each other, with Sara occasionally asking questions about the projects and trying not to sound like she knew absolutely nothing about architecture until the conversation came around to names that she DID recognize.

Suddenly, through the door had come a tall, disheveled young man, a portfolio under one arm and a bicycle helmet under the other. He apologized for being late, and introduced himself as Andrew Rhodes. Elizabeth's eyes were twinkling when he came in, and too late, Sara realized her friend's intentions. Before she could object, her devil of a best friend had seated Andrew beside Sara and introduced them to each other. Much to her relief, Sara found Andrew to be an interesting conversational partner as well as good-looking, and the two got along splendidly. Elizabeth, without Sara's knowledge, had been talking Sara up to Andrew for weeks, and Andrew had been eager to introduce himself to the pretty nursing student. Sara learned that Andrew was twenty-six years old and trying to earn his master's degree. When he wasn't in school, he was working at a contracting firm, and someday hoped to be made a partner. He also apparently didn't mind how shy Sara was, and smiled off her apology for lack of exciting conversation by telling her she was more interesting than some of the other students at the table.

At the end of lunch, Sara had walked out with Andrew's phone number and the promise of a coffee date. One coffee date had turned into another, and then into a dinner date, and then a movie date, on and on for eight months, until that Christmas, when Andrew proposed to her under the mistletoe at her grandmother's home. Sara had said yes immediately, and the wedding was set for the spring, shortly after Sara's birthday in May. Just before the turn of the new year, Andrew's boss decided to retire, and when none of his children or grandchildren expressed any interest in running the company, the man had asked Andrew how he would feel about running the contracting company himself. Andrew had been, as one of Sara's Welsh cousins said, "completely gob smacked" at the offer, but had taken it out of intense gratitude to the old man for giving him a start, and the bonus was enough to pay for the small wedding the two wanted outright. Family members had still insisted on contributing something to the wedding, so it was agreed that the reception would be held at Andrew's parents' house and Sara's family would cook the food.

There was a knock on the door, and Sara was jolted from her thoughts back to reality. "Come in," she said. She figured it would be Elizabeth, who had said that in addition to her regular maid of honor duties, she would be sneaking a bottle of wine into the bridal room to calm the bride's nerves. But when Sara looked in the mirror at the door, it wasn't Elizabeth standing in the frame with her; it was her grandmother.

"So?" Sara asked nervously. "How does it look on me?" Finding the wedding dress hadn't been at all difficult. The moment her granddaughter had gotten engaged, Rosa had offered the use of her own wedding dress, and upon seeing it, Sara had joyfully accepted.

Rosa smiled. "It looks better on you than it did on me," she said, crossing the room to her granddaughter. "You look so beautiful, my love. I wish your grandfather had lived to see this. He would have been so proud of you." Her beloved husband had died shortly after Jennie announced she was pregnant with JJ, and had never lived to know any of James' children, who were so like him in personality.

"I managed the big four," Sara said. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue."

"An old superstition," Rosa said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. "But still, fun nonetheless. So, my dress is the something borrowed, and your veil is the something new. What is your something old and your something blue?"

Sara grinned and showed her grandmother her fingernails. "Here's my something blue," she said. She then held out the ring on the chain for her grandmother to see. "And this is my something old."

Rosa smiled as she recognized the ring. "Do you know who that ring belonged to?" she asked.

Sara nodded. "Mawr-nain Bethan," she said. "Mawr-taid Ger gave it to her on their wedding day. Great-Aunt Cerys gave it to Taid when he married you, and Dad says you gave it to him when he married Mom."

"Your great-great-grandfather gave it to your great-great grandmother when they married," Rosa said. "That ring has been in the family for over 175 years."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sara played with the ring a little bit. "And is it supposed to be good luck?"

"It's supposed to be a family heirloom," Rosa said. "I've always believed, as did your grandfather, that you make a good deal of your own luck, and the rest is up to fate." She looked at her granddaughter and realized something was not exactly right. "What is it, child?"

Sara sighed. "You told me once that if I found someone that I thought I could spend the rest of my life with, I shouldn't let them pass me by, no matter how old I was."

"And I still believe that."

"I'm scared," Sara finally admitted. "What if I'm too young? I'm only nineteen. I love Andrew, I love him so much, but I don't know if I'm doing the right thing."

Rosa listened as her granddaughter spilled out all her fears about the marriage, and then reached into her purse and pulled out an old-looking envelope. She handed it to Sara, who turned it over and saw the words "To My Grandchild" written in handwriting Sara had never seen before.

"Your grandfather wrote letters to all of his grandchildren shortly after your great-aunt Ffion passed away," she said. "He told me that I should give them to each one of you on the day you would need it most. I gave your brother his on the day he graduated from the police academy, and your sister hers the day she opened her daycare center. I think today is the day that you should have yours."

Sara held the letter in her hands, tracing the handwriting. She had never known her grandfather, had never had the chance to beg him for sweets or see him smile like some of her cousins had, yet he had thought that one day after he was gone, she would exist. She had seen pictures of her grandfather and video of him, so she knew his voice, but never had she expected that he would plan for her. Carefully, she opened the envelope and pulled out the paper.

Sitting in a chair next to the mirror, she read the letter her grandfather had written decades before. He told the story of his parents, and of his meeting her grandmother, and all his accomplishments and the difficulties his family had experienced during the war. She learned that her great-grandfather had lived to see First Contact, and how her great-grandmother had worried herself sick whenever her grandfather was sent out on test pilot missions. Her grandfather instructed her to learn Welsh if she could, never take her friends for granted, and most importantly, to never harm another living being.

"First do no harm," Sara whispered, reciting part of the Hippocratic Oath that she, as a nurse, was obligated to follow.

The part of the letter she kept coming back to, though, was a paragraph near the middle, where her grandfather talked about her great-grandparents' marriage. They had been married at eighteen, and according to her grandfather, had stayed together until her great-grandfather's death. "In love their whole lives," the letter said.

"In love their whole lives," Sara said.

Rosa nodded. "And they were younger than you are now. The man you've found is one of the good ones, my dear. Did you know that shortly before he proposed to you, he told me and your father that he was going to do it?"

Sara shook her head. "I had no idea," she said. "Did he ask permission?"

Rosa laughed. "Not at all. He said he doesn't hold with that idea, and neither do I, while we're on the subject. He told your father and I that even though there was a difference in age, you were more mature than most people his age, and you were brilliant and kind and hilarious, and on top of all that, beautiful, and that he was going to ask you to marry him. He said he was letting us know so we could get defibrillators ready in case one of your elderly relatives had a heart attack."

Sara started laughing herself. "That definitely sounds like Andrew."

There was another knock at the door, and Elizabeth poked her head into the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Miss Rosa, they're waiting for you. It's time." She looked at her best friend and teared up. "You look so beautiful, Sara," she said, holding the door open for Sara's grandmother. "I can't wait to show Trip and Phillip the pictures!"

"Remember, I'm not looking for anyone anymore," Sara said, standing up and making sure her dress was perfect. A few minutes later, her father came in to get her.

"You look beautiful," he said, tearing up. "My beautiful baby girl…are we doing this already?"

Sara started tearing up and nodded. "We're doing this."

"There's still time to back out…"

Sara laughed and handed the envelope with her grandfather's letter to her father. "No, I know what I'm doing," she said. "And you can thank Grandpa for that."

James looked at the letter and smiled. "I remember when he wrote these. You would have loved him. He could tell the best stories and drink men decades younger than him under the table."

"Really?"

"Well, not the drinking part, but he did tell some amazing stories."

Sara smiled and took her father's arm. Moments later, she was walking down the aisle to an instrumental interpretation of a song by a band that was popular when her great-great-grandmother was growing up, and the expression on Andrew's face told her that she was doing the right thing, and that everything would be all right.

"In love their whole lives," Sara thought as she took Andrew's hand. She smiled at the man she loved and turned to face the altar as the ceremony began.


	5. May 7th, 2147 - The Birth of Sara's Sons

**_From your head down to your toes,_**

**_You're not much, goodness knows._**

**_But you're so precious to me,_**

**_Sweet as can be, baby of mine._**

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sara muttered, waddling over to the ringing phone. "I'm only eight and a half months pregnant and on restricted movement…" She looked at the caller ID and her anger drained away; the call was from Elizabeth.

"Hi dork!" Sara said gleefully into the phone.

"Ah, it moves!" Elizabeth said, cackling loudly into the phone. "So you're finally allowed to be up and about again?"

"My coworkers in the maternity unit upgraded me from Bed Rest to Restricted Movement yesterday," Sara said, wandering out to the backyard with the phone and sitting in a lawn chair.

"Which means you can go out to the bars with me and Phillip and Trip when he comes home again, right?"

Sara laughed. "Which means I can walk around our property, including the backyard, where you and Phillip and Trip can drink while I watch," she said.

"But in all seriousness, at least you're able to move around again. Bed rest must have sucked."

"You have NO IDEA," Sara said, rolling her eyes. "Although Andrew was sweet about it. He cooked for me and brought me all the weird foods I wanted."

"Aww, how sweet!" Elizabeth said. "Tell me more!"

"Get this," Sara said. "He also hired someone to clean while I was on bed rest AND rubbed my feet and my back whenever I asked, and not necessarily in that order."

"Who's cleaning now that you're moving around again? He's not making you do it, is he?"

"He's doing the heavy stuff, like the laundry and vacuuming. He also puts the dishes away for me, and he'll help with the dishes if I get tired in the middle of doing them."

"I knew introducing the two of you was a good idea," Elizabeth said happily. "He's perfect for you. Oh, and by the way, happy birthday from me and the rest of the Tucker family. How does twenty-one feel?"

"Like I'm eight and a half months pregnant and constantly being kicked in the kidneys," Sara said with a laugh. "So, how IS the rest of the Tucker family?"

"Mom and Dad are good, and so is Phillip," Elizabeth said. Sara could hear her chewing on something and figured there was chocolate around. "Phillip's just been given an award for teaching. It's one of those state-wide award things. His Senior English kids nominated him."

"Oh, the Little Bastards?" Sara said, remembering Phillip's somewhat-less-than-affectionate name for the sneaky group of senior high students to whom he had spent the last 3 years teaching English.

"The very same."

"That was sweet of them! I'd heard they were taking nominations, but I had no idea Phillip was nominated."

"Neither did he. Apparently it's secret ballot-type stuff. He only just found out today that he won. It'll be in the papers in a few days probably. Trip was on the phone with him today teasing him about it. It was great."

"Speaking of Trip, how IS he?" Sara asked. She made an "oof" noise as the twins started kicking her insistently. "Sorry about that. Your nephews decided now was a good time to kick my upper back."

"You poor thing. They're both upside down?"

"The doctors were pretty surprised too. But they're healthy, and if they stay upside down, I won't need a C section. I'm supposed to go in for another look this afternoon."

"Must have been all those years we spent on the monkey bars," Elizabeth said. Sara could almost see the roguish grin on her best friend's face. "Anyways, you were asking about Trip before the little devils so rudely interrupted us."

"Yeah," Sara said, shifting in her seat to try and alleviate some of the pain from the kicking. There was a sharp pain in her side, and she winced. "Ow, that was a hard one. James needs to cut it out or he's going to be born grounded. Your mom mentioned something about a training mission?"

"Yeah, that didn't end so well."

Sara sat straight up in her chair, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "How so?"

"Oh, Trip almost got himself killed."

"What?" Sara yelled. There was another stabbing pain in her side. "James Alexander Rhodes, stop it! How did that happen?"

"So, he and his buddy Jonathan Archer were on a training mission on Titan, and somehow, my brother's environmental suit malfunctioned. And the idiot tries to take his helmet off WHILE HE'S ON TITAN'S SURFACE."

"How did the malfunction happen?"

"No idea. They're still trying to figure it out. Anyways, Archer stopped him from taking his helmet off, so he's all right now, but Mom reamed him out for an hour over the phone for nearly giving her a heart attack."

"YIKES!" Sara yelled, standing up.

"Sara, are you OK?"

"I have no idea, but the babies are kicking really hard, and I'm worried."

"Get yourself to the hospital," Elizabeth said without hesitation. "I'll call Andrew and meet you there."

Sara knew she had to get herself checked out by someone, so she hung up the phone and called a cab. Twenty minutes later, she was in a hospital bed with Elizabeth and Andrew at her side when she got some surprising news.

"I'M IN LABOR?" Sara shouted in disbelief. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M IN LABOR?"

"You're 5 centimeters dilated, Mrs. Rhodes," the doctor said. "And from the ultrasound, it appears that there won't be any need for a Caesarian section. We'll be able to do this the natural way."

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Sara shouted again. She howled in pain as another contraction hit her. "Is it safe for the babies to be born this early?"

"You're a little past 34 weeks, so yes, it's safe. Quite frankly, I'm amazed the little fellas have held out this long. Twins usually come long before this." The doctor explained a few more things to Andrew and Elizabeth, such as how to read the machine that illustrated the strength of the contractions and when Sara would be able to have an epidural before leaving the room.

"This is all Trip's fault," Sara muttered. Elizabeth cackled and Andrew looked confused.

"How is this Trip's fault?" Andrew asked. "He wasn't anywhere near you when this happened…" He looked at Elizabeth. "Is your brother a magician or something too?" Elizabeth laughed harder and explained the phone call to Andrew. "OK, not a magician, definitely an idiot. However, he's an idiot who's about to have a kid named after him." It was Sara and Andrew's turn to laugh at how confused Elizabeth looked.

"Wait, seriously?" Elizabeth said, blinking at her laughing friends. "My brother stresses your wife, who has had pregnancy complications bad enough to warrant bed rest, into labor, AND YOU'RE NAMING ONE OF THE KIDS AFTER HIM?"

"We had a middle name for one of the twins but no first name," Andrew explained. "I always thought my name was a better middle name than a first name, and Charles is a pretty good name to give a kid, so yeah, why not?"

Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. "That MORON," she shouted, shaking her head.

"Come on, Lizzie," Sara said, poking her friend. "Just think of how goofy Trip's going to look when you tell him that not only did he unintentionally cause me to go into labor, we named one of the babies after him. He's going to lose his damn mind!" Elizabeth had to laugh at the mental image of her brother getting the news that his accident on Titan had not only caused Sara to go into labor, but also to name a baby after him.

"Fine, you win," she said. "Charles Andrew IS a pretty good name."

And seven hours, one epidural, and a lot of creative cursing later, at 10:03 on his mother's twenty-first birthday, Charles Andrew Rhodes was born, followed by his brother James Alexander at 10:07. As the doctors placed the babies in her arms, Sara smiled.

"Hello, little ones," she said, kissing her sons on the forehead. "Welcome to your new adventure."


	6. May 2153 - The Xindi Attack

**_His feelings were as deep for you  
and maybe even more,  
Though he probably didn't show it  
you knew his heart was sure,  
And though he left without a single word  
it was better in the end,  
There are no words to say goodbye  
I hope you'll meet again. _**

"So, do you know if you're having a girl or a boy yet?"

Sara smiled at her mother in law's question and rested her hand on the small yet clearly visible bump of her five and a half months pregnant stomach. "You're getting a granddaughter," she said. "We initially wanted to be surprised this time, but Andrew and I finally caved three days ago and asked the doctor to tell us." Katie Rhodes' face erupted in a bright smile at the news.

"Oh Sara, I'm so happy for the two of you. Alexander, we're getting a granddaughter!"

"It's about time!" Alexander Rhodes yelled from the kitchen. "Too many men in this family. I want a granddaughter to spoil too!"

"He's one of the only men I know who actually say out loud that they want a granddaughter," Katie said to Sara. "It's one of the many reasons I love him."

"Your son's a lot like his father," Sara said. "I just talked to Andrew about an hour or two ago, and he said he couldn't wait to meet his daughter."

"It's a shame he couldn't make it out here with you and the boys."

Sara shrugged. "You know your son," she said with a grin. "He's always willing to help out a coworker. It's not his coworker's fault that his mother up in Idaho fell down the stairs. He's doing the guy a big favor by taking his shift, and he'll also get to see Elizabeth for a bit, which is nice."

There was a crashing noise, and Sara's six year old twins Charlie and James came running into the living room looking terrified. They threw themselves into their mother's arms and started crying.

"Boys, what's wrong?" Sara asked. She'd rarely, if ever, seen her boys scared of something the way they were now.

"Mommy, one of the neighbors said that the aliens attacked us and Florida got blown up!" Charlie said, his little face pale.

Sara rolled her eyes. "You know Mr. Mollusc is old and his mind tends to wander. He's just trying to scare you boys."

James shook his head insistently. "It wasn't him," he said, backing up his older brother. "It was on Mr. Johnson's radio. The announcer said it was true."

The blood drained from Sara's face as she looked at Katie, whose expression mirrored her own. "Go get your grandfather," she said to the boys. They ran into the kitchen as Katie turned the television on. To their horror, the boys had been right: nearly every channel was covering the attack.

"Dear god," Sara whispered. "What have they done?"

There was rubble and smoke everywhere, people bleeding, and some people clearly dead. Alexander joined them in the living room with the boys, and they all stared in horror at the chaos and terror unfolding in front of their eyes. Charlie and James buried their faces in Sara's shoulders, and Sara held them closed and kissed their foreheads, trying to convince them-and herself, if she were to be honest-that everything was going to be all right, that Daddy and Aunt Elizabeth were going to call soon and everything would be OK.

The calls began flooding the Rhodes home, with various friends and relatives calling to check in and confirm that they were all right. Andrew's siblings and aunts and uncles, Sara's parents and siblings. Various nieces and nephews and childhood friends and coworkers. The calls kept coming and coming. All were present and accounted for. The only ones who needed to call were Andrew and Elizabeth, and then Sara could relax. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Alexander was the one who answered the phone. He listened for a moment, and then slowly turned to face Sara, Katie, and the boys, who had all stood up quickly when the phone rang. One look at his face was all Sara needed to know that her husband would not be coming home, would never be coming home again, and that she would be raising the boys and their daughter alone.

"Andrew?" she whispered, holding her boys close.

Alexander shook his head. The boys started crying and clung to their grandmother and mother. Katie held back her tears, but the news of the death of her son clearly aged her within seconds. Sara listened calmly as Alexander explained that Andrew's building had been one of the first ones hit, and that nobody in the building had made it out alive.

Sara's ears began ringing. "Everyone in the building is gone?" she choked out, her mind immediately racing to Elizabeth, the face of her best friend materializing in front of her as she'd been only days earlier. "Elizabeth too?"

"I'm so sorry, Sara," Alexander said, hugging his daughter in law. "They combed the wreckage, but there were no survivors."

There was a searing pain in Sara's middle, and she doubled over and screamed, a loud, terrifyingly primal sound from deep in her throat. She didn't remember her boys screaming for their mother, didn't remember being loaded into the ambulance, didn't remember her mother in law stroking her hair as she was rushed to the hospital. All she remembered was the last thing Andrew had said to her before he hung up the phone:

"I love you, and I can't wait to see our little girl."

When Sara finally woke up, she was in a hospital room. A nurse was checking her chart, and when Sara caught her eye, her hands immediately went to her stomach. "My baby?" she asked, fearing the worst.

The nurse came over and patted Sara's stomach, making her instinctively wince and pull away. "Your daughter is just fine," she said. "There was a little bleeding, but we got you stabilized and she's just fine. She's a strong little one." The nurse placed the chart back in its place and opened the door of Sara's hospital room. Before she had a chance to tell Sara they were there, the twins rushed into the room yelling "MOMMY!"

"My babies," Sara said, bursting into tears and holding out her arms. The boys climbed onto the bed and each lay a head on Sara's shoulders. Sara cuddled them close and cried as hard as she could, for herself, for Elizabeth's family, and for her children, especially the daughter she carried who would never know the amazing man that her father was.

"Mommy, you scared us," Charlie said, resting one of his small hands on his mother's stomach. "We thought you and the baby were gonna go away too."

Sara shook her head. "No baby," she said, kissing her boys. "Mommy isn't going anywhere. And neither is your baby sister. The nurse just told me she's perfectly fine."

"Nana Katie says that Daddy and Aunt Lizzie are in Heaven," James said solemnly. "She says they can't come back again. Why can't they come home?"

Sara had been dreading having this conversation with her children, but she had hoped that she wouldn't have to have it for a few years, and most certainly about their father. Her grandmother had been on a slow decline over the years, and Sara, though she hated to think about it, had fully expected that her first conversation with her children about death would involve explaining why Mawr-Nain Rosa wasn't going to come visit anymore.

"Do you boys remember when you went to the park with Pappy Alex last year?" Sara began slowly. "And you saw that little boy break his leg?"

The boys nodded. "He was hurt really really bad," Charlie said.

"But then he came back the next day and had his leg in a cast," James said. "We signed it, I remember."

"That's because the doctor was able to fix his hurt," Sara said, choosing her words carefully. "Sometimes, a person is hurt too badly for a doctor or a nurse like Mommy to help. We like to believe that we can make anybody better, but the truth is, sometimes there's nothing we can do to help, no matter how hard we try."

"So Daddy and Aunt Lizzie were hurt too bad for the doctors to fix, and that's why they can't come home?" Charlie said.

Sara nodded. "There are a lot of people who can't come home today because they got hurt too badly," she explained. "Some kids like you are missing a daddy or a mommy, and some daddies and mommies who are the same age as your grandparents are missing their kids. People like your Aunt Addie and Uncle JJ are missing brothers and sisters. Some people are even missing grandparents. All of them were too badly hurt for the doctors."

The boys snuggled close to their mother quietly for a bit, and then James spoke up. "Mommy, why did the bad aliens do this?"

"I don't know baby," Sara answered truthfully. "Sometimes, there are people in the world who just want to hurt other people. My mawr-nain Bethan was a little younger than me in 2001, when some bad people attacked New York and Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, and the first question everyone asked was why. But nobody knew for the longest time why they did it. Finally, people figured out that the people who did the attack were just bad people. Aliens are the same way. Some aliens are good, like the Vulcans, and some aliens are bad."

"Will the bad aliens come back and get us too?" Charlie asked.

"Not as long as Starfleet's here," Sara said. "Starfleet will stop them from hurting us again."

Before the boys could ask any more questions, the doctor came in with a long list of What Not To Do, and Sara nodded without protest until the doctor said that she couldn't make any outbound phone calls from the hospital phones.

"Doctor, I know you're trying to reduce my stress levels, but my best friend was killed in those attacks, and I have to talk to her parents. I've known them since I was little, and if I don't call them, they'll be hurt even more than they are now."

The doctor shook his head. "In a month, we'll reassess the situation and see what we can do. But for now, Mrs. Rhodes, you need to be in bed resting, with as little stress as possible. From what your files indicate, this isn't the first time you've had complications with a pregnancy, and we don't want to take any chances with your health or your daughter's health." The doctor smiled down at the twins, who stared quizzically back at him. "You little guys will help your mommy relax, won't you?"

The boys smiled, happy to be included like grown-ups. "We will!" they crowed together. Charlie reached behind Sara and tried to fluff her pillow, and James patted her on the head. "How's this?"

The doctor grinned. "Your boys are going to make excellent doctors someday, Mrs. Rhodes. It's good that you have them with you."

Sara smiled a little. "They're my little loves," she said. "And so much like their father."

"I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss," the doctor said. "Your friend and your husband as well. But you-"

"Have my children to consider," Sara said, cutting the doctor off midsentence. "Yes, I know. And I would do anything for them. Even stay in bed for a month or two and do absolutely nothing and be completely bored."

"You won't be bored, Mommy," Charlie insisted. "Jimmy and I will make things interesting for you!"

"Yeah, we will!" James said with a grin. "We'll all forget about Daddy and Aunt Lizzie together!"

Sara grinned at her boys, but inside, she'd already made up her mind: She would never forget Andrew and Elizabeth as long as she lived, and she had an idea of how to make that possible. It all depended on the result of the phone call she so desperately wanted to make.


	7. July 2153 - Naming Sara's Baby

**_What is happening to me?_**

**_Crazy, some'd say_**

**_Where is my friend when I need you most?_**

**_Gone away_**

**_But I won't cry for yesterday_**

**_There's an ordinary world_**

**_Somehow I have to find_**

**_And as I try to make my way_**

**_To the ordinary world_**

**_I will learn to survive_**

Sara picked up the phone and stared at the paper in her hands. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten the number, but somehow she had. Slowly, she dialed the number and waited as the phone rang, her heart sinking with each ring. And then, as if by magic, a familiar voice filled her ears.

"Hello?" Phillip said, sounding tired.

"Phillip?" Sara said, starting to cry. "Phillip, it's Sara. Oh god, I am so so sorry…"

"Little Red?" Phillip replied, recognizing the voice. "Oh man, don't cry. I can't stand any more crying."

Sara dried her eyes as best she could. "I can't help it," she said. "It's a combination of the hormones and being upset that I couldn't do this earlier."

"We heard about Andrew," Phillip said. "I can't believe it…both of them…"

"How are your parents?"

"They're doing the best they can," Phillip said. "Elizabeth was the baby, and it's hitting all of us hard."

"How's Trip?"

"Pissed off. Devastated. He was home recently and he was just angry as hell. I think he's also upset that the Enterprise couldn't get to Earth in time to stop the attack and save Lizzie. How's your family?"

"The boys are having some trouble understanding what happened. I tried to explain it to them the best way I knew how, but it's clear they don't fully understand why their daddy isn't coming home."

"And the baby?"

Sara grinned weakly and put a hand on her stomach. "She's fine," she answered. "There were some complications, but the doctors in California put me on extremely strict bed rest for two months just to be safe, and she's as healthy as ever. The doctors are thinking she'll come in August or early in September."

There was a shuffling and some muttering on the other end of the phone, and Phillip came back on the line. "My mother wants to talk to you," he said. Sara braced herself. This was the conversation she'd been dreading the most.

"Hello Sara," Mrs. Tucker said. "I've been hoping to hear from you. Your mother told me there were some complications with your pregnancy. Are you all right?"

Sara exhaled slowly. Clearly, there would be no anger from at least two members of Elizabeth's family at her complete failure to promptly offer condolences. "I'm doing better now," she answered. "I wanted to call the minute I found out that…well…but the doctors in California wouldn't let me make out of state calls on the hospital phone. I practically begged the doctor to let me call you, but I was refused."

"I know you had a good reason," Mrs. Tucker responded. "You've always been a good girl, Sara, and the last few months can't have been easy for you. I was so sorry to hear about your husband."

"Thank you. The boys are missing their aunt Lizzie too. They talk about her constantly. They loved her so much…and so did I. She was practically a sister to me."

"She loved you too, Sara. Before she left for work that day, she couldn't stop talking about the new baby, and how she was looking forward to spoiling her."

Sara hesitated. She wasn't sure that now was exactly the right time, but she decided to do it anyway. "Actually, I was thinking…Andrew and I never had a chance to discuss names for the baby, but while I was in the hospital, I had an idea. I was thinking…well, more like hoping, that you would let me…" Sara trailed off, somehow unable to finish.

She could almost picture Mrs. Tucker on the other end of the line, smiling and undoubtedly a few tears in her eyes. "You want to name her Elizabeth, don't you?"

Sara nodded, a ridiculous gesture since nobody could see her do it. "If you and your husband wouldn't mind, I'd very much like to name her Elizabeth. I would have suggested it to Andrew anyways, and I know Elizabeth would have been thrilled, but since the circumstances have changed, I wasn't sure if…"

"If we would be all right with it? Sara, you and Elizabeth were friends for 24 years, and I for one never doubted for a minute that one of you would name a child after the other. You have my blessing, and if my husband or either of my sons give you trouble about it, you tell them to come to me."

Sara felt incredibly relieved. "Thank you so much," she said, extremely grateful. "I couldn't think of any other name I wanted for a first name, and I thought that maybe if I asked nicely, you'd let me do it."

"Consider the matter closed. Now, have you picked out a middle name?"

"I was thinking Cailinn," Sara said. She grinned as the baby kicked in response. "She keeps kicking whenever I mention the name, so I think she approves. It was my grandmother Kapalko's name."

"I think it's beautiful. She's going to have a lovely name."

"And hopefully, you can tell her that in person," Sara said. "I'd like to bring her to see you and your husband after she's born. Or…if you wouldn't feel extremely awkward…it would be nice to have a Tucker in the waiting room while she's being born…"

"Of course I'll be there. I'll bring Phillip with me as well, if he's not in school then. My husband doesn't feel much up to travelling anymore, and Trip's back out with the Enterprise. But we'll definitely be there. It'll be nice to see your parents again."

"I'll be sure to let Dad know he'll have company in the waiting room," Sara said with a laugh. "And you'll get to see my boys. They're almost six and a half now."

"They grow up so fast, don't they."

Sara rubbed her tummy and smiled out the window at her two boys, who were running around with Andrew's parents' new dog that they had dubbed Frodo. "Not too fast, I hope."


	8. August 17th, 2153 - Elizabeth Rhodes

**_Precious little angel_**

**_Won't you spread your light on me_**

**_I was locked up in the darkness_**

**_Now you've come to set me free_**

"You're gonna be OK, Mommy!" James said, squeezing his mother's hand.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Sara replied. "REMIND ME NEVER TO DO THIS AGAIN BOYS!" She had been in labor for nearly 6 hours, and the contractions weren't getting any easier. If anything, it seemed like the epidural she'd been given wasn't doing anything at all. Between the pain from the contractions and the noise from the massive thunder and rainstorm outside, the situation was damn near unbearable.

For the birth of her third child, Sara had requested that her sons be in the delivery room with her, a rather unusual request and one that the doctors didn't see too often. However, these doctors were also Sara's coworkers, and had full knowledge of the circumstances of the birth. They knew that Sara would be giving birth without her husband and best friend, and that she wanted her family close. They were also inclined to grant her request because she was extremely well-liked amongst the staff, though still retained some of her former shyness at large hospital functions, and knowing that she had planned to move to California after her daughter was born, they were sad to see her go.

"Don't forget your breathing!" Charlie said, rubbing his mother's back. The nurses snickered. Of all the children who had been born in their hospital, the Rhodes twins were particular favorites due to their innate charm and sweetness. Their mother would occasionally bring them in if she was unable to find a babysitter, and the elderly & long-term care patients in particular had become quite fond of the little boys who would wander behind the volunteers in charge of delivering water and meals.

Sara laughed. "I won't forget," she said, lying back against the pillows. "That was a painful one."

"Why does your tummy do that?" James asked, forever inquisitive as six and a half year olds are.

"My tummy has to push the baby out," Sara said. "And to do that, it has to move one side and then the other. That's what hurts."

"…your tummy is using sissy as a pinball?" James asked, looking confused.

"Not exactly," Sara said, trying very hard not to laugh. "More like how you push icing through a tube when you're making cookies."

"Oh," James answered, looking like he might have understood. "So it's like that and hitting your foot a lot at the same time."

"Yes. Yes it is." Another contraction hit Sara and she shrieked so loudly that Charlie and James both covered their ears. The nurse took a look and gave Sara the news she had been waiting for: it was time to push.

"James, Charlie, go get Nana Katie and Grandma Jennie," Sara panted, still in the midst of the contraction. The boys ran from the room as if they'd been shot by cannons, and soon returned with Sara's mother and mother in law.

"All right boys, this is what's going to happen," Katie said, helping her grandsons back onto the bed. "You get behind your mommy, and you help her with her breathing. Grandma Jennie and I are going to hold your mommy's hands while she pushes."

"But Jimmy and I wanted to hold her hands!" Charlie protested. "We helped her all through earlier. Six hours of earlier!"

"Your Nana Katie and I are trying to reward you by giving the two of you a break," Jennie said, winking at Katie. The two had liked each other instantly when Sara and Andrew had introduced them, and Jennie had provided Katie with valuable support through the months after Andrew's death. "So we'll take the bone-crushing pain in our hands from your mommy squeezing them, and you boys can act as extra snuggly pillows for your mommy."

The twins looked at each other and giggled. Their grandma Jennie and nana Katie were funny. "OK," the boys said together, and climbed behind Sara.

"All right Sara," said the doctor, who had entered the room and bit back a bark of laughter at the site of the twins perched behind her shoulders like birds. "Let's get these boys their sister. On the count of three, I want you to bear down and push. One…two…three…PUSH!"

Sara pushed as hard as she could, her hands locked with her mother and Katie's hands in an iron grip. All her focus was on bringing her daughter into the world. There was something the doctor said that she couldn't quite hear, something about the epidural failing, but it wasn't completely clear. The pain as she pushed was so intense that all she wanted to do was give up.

And yet…and yet she could picture Andrew clearly, almost as if he was actually in the room with her, telling her not to give up. Elizabeth telling her that it was just one more push, just one more, and the baby would be there. She remembered swearing at Elizabeth during the twins' births because every time Elizabeth said "Just one more push," there had been another push after that. She laughed out loud.

"What's funny?" Jennie asked.

"When the boys were born," Sara choked out, still laughing. "I just remembered that Elizabeth kept saying "Just one more push and you're done," and then I'd need another push! Just like now!"

"I can see the head!" the doctor said.

"Is it human?" Charlie asked.

"CHARLES ANDREW RHODES, FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM HAVING A GIRL, NOT AN ALIEN BABY!" Sara shouted as she pushed again. She could hear Charlie snickering behind her and James' insistent whisper that Charlie stop it, because then he'd get grounded and they wouldn't be able to go swimming with Uncle JJ the next day if he was grounded. Sara had no intention of grounding Charlie; apparently, under the influence of the epidural, she had asked a similar question when he was being born. She was just extremely tired of the boys joking that she was going to give birth to a cone headed alien baby or something similar.

"The shoulders are out," the doctor said. "This is it, Sara. One more big push!"

Sara summoned all her strength and pushed as hard as she could, letting out an intensely loud howl of pain. She collapsed backwards against the twins and the pillows and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. The familiar sound of a baby crying filled the room, and she was vaguely aware of the boys shaking her and yelling "The baby's here! The baby's here!"

As the world spun back into focus, Sara could see the doctor holding the baby, and smiled weakly as her mother and Katie both held the scissors and cut the umbilical cord. And then the baby was wrapped in a towel and being placed in her arms, and she heard the words "You have a healthy baby girl." The doctor, nurses, and assembled adults left the room to let the little family get acquainted with their newest addition.

"Hello Elizabeth," Sara said, staring down at her daughter. Large brown eyes stared back at her, scanning her face and the two faces behind her. James wiggled out from behind her back, and before she had a chance to warn him to be gentle, he reached out and gently stroked his baby sister's hand.

"Hi sissy," he said. The baby reached out and grabbed one of his fingers, and just held it for a while. "She has my finger!"

"I hope she doesn't chew on it," Charlie said, wrinkling his nose.

Sara smiled. "You chewed on Mawr-nain Rosa's finger the first time she held you," she teased.

Charlie looked surprised. "I did?" he asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"You did. Mawr-nain Rosa thought it was hilarious, though."

"Is Mawr-nain Rosa gonna come see the new baby?" James asked. "She needs to come see the new baby soon."

"If she's feeling healthy enough, I'm sure she will," Sara said, thinking of her extremely elderly grandmother. In her grandmother's favor was the fact that Rosa's grandmother had once held the title of World's Oldest Living Person and that Rosa had now earned the title herself, but against her was the fact that elderly people got sick and dropped dead without much warning.

There was a knock on the door, and the boys yelled "Come in!" without waiting for Sara to give permission. Sara looked up instinctively, and tears came to her eyes as she saw who had entered the room.

"Hey Phillip," she said, grinning at her old friend. "Want a baby?"

"You can't give Lizzie away!" James stated. "She's OUR baby!"

"No offense, sir," Charlie said, glaring at his brother for being so impolite. "But we wanna keep our baby sister please."

"That's all right, you can keep her," Phillip said, smiling at the twins. "I've got a couple of my own."

"And as much as I'd like more grandchildren, I think I can wait for them," said his mother, who had followed him in.

"Boys, go see if one of the volunteers will bring Mommy some water, and then see if they can find you some treats for being so helpful," Sara said. The boys kissed their mother, gently kissed their baby sister, and then ran out of the room talking excitedly about milkshakes.

"They're adorable, Sara," Mrs. Tucker said, walking over to the hospital bed. "They remind me of you when you were that age."

Sara laughed and rolled her eyes. "I had nowhere near the energy those two have," she said. "I'm amazed my parents and Andrew's parents can keep up with them. I can't on my best days."

"At least you seem to have two willing helpers with the baby."

"Oh yes, they've already said they'll read her stories and feed her bottles and rock her to sleep," Sara laughed. "The only thing they haven't offered to do was change diapers. They're really excited for her."

The baby gurgled, and Sara smiled down at her. "She's got Andrew's ears," she commented. "And she'll probably have his hair too. Red's a recessive gene, so she's unlikely to end up with my hair."

"She's beautiful," Phillip said. "Lizzie would have loved her. And she'd also be running around the hospital bragging that she just had a baby named after her."

"Well, remember, Trip got his namesake first," Sara pointed out with a giggle. "And who got their namesake first is all that matters."

"You kids," Mrs. Tucker said with a smile. "Probably haven't seen each other in about 5 years, but it doesn't matter, you're still just as naughty as you ever were."

The baby's eyes went to Mrs. Tucker, and she gurgled again. "Do you want to hold her?" Sara asked. "I trust you, since, you know, you've got experience and all." The baby was safely switched over, and Mrs. Tucker smiled down at the little bundle in her arms.

"Why hello there, little lady," she said. "You're named after my little girl. I hope you're just as unruly and brave and amazing as she was. It's why she and your mother were such good friends."

While her friends cooed over the baby, Sara turned her head and looked out the window. Outside was a rare sight: a double rainbow. Sara leaned her head back on her pillows and smiled. Everything was going to be just fine.


	9. June 2155 - Sara Joins Starfleet

**_Ice is forming on the tips of my wings_**

**_Unheeded warnings, I thought, I thought of everything_**

**_No navigator to find my way home_**

**_Unladened, empty and turned to stone_**

**_A soul in tension - that's learning to fly_**

**_Condition grounded but determined to try_**

"You can go in now."

Sara stood up and entered the interview office nervously. After much thought and consideration, and quite a few hours-long discussions with her family members, Sara had decided that the best course of action to support herself and her children was to join Starfleet. She had applied for a position at Starfleet Medical, and was hoping against hope that she would get accepted. It would be more dangerous than her current nursing job, but the money it would provide for her children was the more important thing. She wasn't in debt, but she was definitely struggling and was dangerously close to the point where she'd have to start borrowing money from family members.

She introduced herself to the interviewer, and sat quietly while he reviewed her information. Finally, he spoke.

"Eight years nursing experience, three of those as Deputy Head of Nursing at California Medical Center's San Francisco campus, and a spotless disciplinary record," the interviewer mused. "Additionally, the references from your coworkers here and in Florida are quite impressive. Seems you were quite the popular employee, Mrs. Rhodes. Why leave all that?"

"I've always had a strong desire to help people, sir, and I've been doing it successfully for years now, but I want to offer assistance on a slightly large scale," Sara began, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. "One could say it's in my blood, sir. My grandfather was a test pilot during the third World War. At the same time, my great-grandmother was head of the Violent Crimes division of the NYPD, and my great-grandfather was Emergency Room Chief of a large hospital in New York City and oversaw shipments of medical supplies out of New York City to the areas that needed them the most in addition to providing patient care under extremely stressful circumstances."

"And how do you do under stressful circumstances, Mrs. Rhodes?"

"I would like to think I handle stress quite well," Sara said thoughtfully. "I don't have a superhuman resistance to it, but you have to work under stress quite frequently in nursing, and as my record attests, there have been no negative instances of stress affecting me."

"What would you say was the most stressful circumstances you've had to operate under thus far?"

As a nurse, Sara had many possible answers to the question, but there was only one answer she knew she could honestly give. "Two years ago, my husband was killed during the Xindi attack on Earth," she responded. "I was left to raise two nearly six year old twin boys on my own, and was pregnant with my daughter Elizabeth at the time as well. I knew that I had to keep working in order to feed my sons and make sure we had a roof over our heads, and when a position near my in-laws opened here in San Francisco, I took the opportunity to apply for it in order to move my sons closer to family so they could see them on a regular basis. Once my daughter was born and I had been approved for the new job, we moved here. I packed all our things by myself, hired the vans, and made sure everything got to California on my own. So I guess you could say that the last two years have been the most stressful circumstances I've had to operate under."

"My belated condolences on the loss of your husband," the interviewer said. "People with less stressful jobs than you have collapsed under similar circumstances. Your fortitude is commendable."

"Thank you, sir," Sara said with a small grin. "To be honest, it was all for my children. I wanted to show them that it was going to be all right, and that you have to push forward no matter how dire everything seems."

"You have three children, correct?"

"Yes sir. Two sons who just recently turned 8 and a daughter who's going to be 2 in August."

"What have you told your children about your decision to join Starfleet?"

"To be frank, I haven't told my daughter much about it," Sara admitted. "I wanted to explain it to my children at a level each of them would understand. Right now, for my daughter, I explained that Mommy is trying for a different job and she might have to go away a lot if she gets it."

The interviewer chuckled. "And your sons?"

"It was a little easier to explain things in detail to them. A friend of mine who was killed along with my husband has an older brother in Starfleet, and she told them enough stories before she was killed that they understood what it entailed when I told them I was applying. They seemed to be more concerned with whether or not I would be learning to shoot anything than anything else."

"How does the rest of your family feel about your decision?"

"My parents are terrified, of course, but I explained to them that it was something that I not only wanted to do, but needed to do to keep myself and the children afloat. They and my in laws have been extremely supportive, as have my siblings. My in-laws and parents will be taking care of my children, and my in-laws made the decision to move to Florida so my children can be around as much family as possible while I'm away."

"Your entire family is living in Florida?"

Sara nodded. "My husband and I moved to St. Augustine after the boys were born because they had better schools, and it was such a close drive to Panama City that my husband could easily commute there and back for work. My sister owns a daycare center there, and my parents moved there after they retired. My brother is the only one who doesn't live there. He's head of the Homicide division of the NYPD and lives in New York City."

"One more question, Mrs. Rhodes," the interviewer said. "Why does Starfleet need you?"

"Well, sir, Starfleet doesn't specifically need ME as a person. I'm nothing special as one person," Sara said after a few moments of thought. "But given the increasing number of conflicts Starfleet has been encountering with the Romulans, and the number of casualties increasing with every conflict, Starfleet Medical is going to be in need of any and all trained medical personnel that they can get their hands on, and I have eight years' worth of training and experience that could prove helpful should the conflicts ever increase. As Sara Callahan Rhodes, the person, I'm no asset at all. But as Sara Callahan Rhodes, the nurse, I'm somebody that could save the lives of Starfleet personnel when the time comes, and that's always needed."

The interviewer listened to her speech, and then sat quietly for a few minutes, flipping through Sara's files again. After what seemed like an eternity, he said the words that Sara had been hoping to hear since the beginning of the interview.

"Normally our applicants would have to go through years of training before they could be assigned, but given your experience, you'll be going through six months of training on officer basics before your first assignment. After that, you'll be serving at Starfleet Medical's Jacksonville office, and if a further assignment presents itself, you'll be informed at that time. Welcome to Starfleet."

"Thank you, sir," Sara said, standing up and shaking the interviewer's hand. "I promise Starfleet will not be disappointed."

She turned and started to walk out the door when she heard the interviewer call out "Not that it really matters, but just out of curiosity, what was your friend's name?"

Sara turned and smiled sadly. "Elizabeth Tucker," she said, then walked out of the building, excitedly planning on how to tell her family that she had been accepted to Starfleet Medical. She only wished that Elizabeth, Andrew, and her grandfather were alive to see it.


	10. April 1st, 2156 - Sara Plays a Prank

**_All my life I've been good but now_**

**_Ooohhh_**

**_I'm thinking "What the hell?"_**

**_All I want is to mess around_**

"So, what should we do now?"

Sara looked at the guest list for the Starfleet Medical Jackson luncheon and frowned. "Well, there's nothing we can do to get on this list," she said, tossing the clipboard onto a table in the office she shared with Ensign Melody Liebowitz, another new Starfleet recruit. The two had become friends pretty instantly when they'd been assigned to the same unit, and Sara couldn't help but think that had Elizabeth lived, the three of them would have made quite the group. Though they'd been told they had shown the most promise of the new crop of medical staff, they had been left off the list of new recruits who were invited to the medical luncheon.

"It had to have been Ensign Parker," Melody fumed. "She's hated us ever since we got the office."

"And because Mommy is a Lieutenant Commander, she gets away with murder, to use the old expression," Sara finished.

"She better hope she doesn't get within a foot of me for another few hours, or her forehead is going to get an intimate meeting with one or both of my crutches."

"No need for that," Sara said with a grin. "I have a better idea."

"And what's that?"

"Well, you're good at copying signatures, aren't you?" Melody nodded. "And you're friends with the guys who bring the cadavers in, aren't you?"

Melody smiled broadly as she realized what Sara had planned. "Yes and yes," she said, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes reminding Sara strongly of Elizabeth when she was hatching a plan. "And one of those gentlemen owes me a favor for watching his kids the other night."

Sara smiled back. "And if Ensign Parker's name is on the delivery slip, and her signature is there along with it…"

"…nobody is going to question it."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh yes. Yes I am."

Sara grinned mischievously, the old sparkle back in her eyes. "And won't everyone be surprised when they see the special delivery…"


	11. April 5th, 2156 - A Calculated Gamble

**_Tranquil as a forest_**

**_But on fire within_**

**_Once you find your center_**

**_You are sure to win_**

"RHODES!"

Sara winced. She looked at her friend Melody and made a face. Ensign Parker was mad, and it was clear in every note of her voice that she was looking for a fight.

"Yes?" Sara said, looking innocent.

Ensign Parker approached her and Melody, staring daggers at them. "Which one of you did it?"

"Did what?" Melody asked. She and Sara, of course, knew exactly what Ensign Parker was referring to; a few days before, they had arranged for cadavers assigned to the Gross Anatomy Lab to be delivered to the Starfleet Medical luncheon, and on the delivery sheet was Ensign Parker's signature, carefully forged by Melody. She was nearly 100% sure that Ensign Parker had figured out that they were responsible.

"You two forged my signature on those cadaver delivery sheets! I got a formal reprimand placed in my file!"

"Look Parker, everyone's heard about this already," Sara said. "You even said yourself that the signature was yours. Even the best forgers aren't THAT good." She was lying through her teeth, of course. One of Melody's many talents was an ability to perfectly replicate handwriting, a skill that Melody, to Sara's amusement, had used quite a bit in high school when it came to signing permission slips.

"I don't know how the two of you managed to do it, but I know it was the two of you! When my mother hears about this, you'll both be demoted!"

"Actually, you'll have to speak to our new commanding officers about that, if the rumors are true" Melody said with a grin.

"What do you mean, "new commanding officers"?" Ensign Parker said, looking confused.

"Ensign Liebowitz and I are getting reassigned, so we've heard," Sara said, picking up Melody's lead. "So if you have a problem with me, you'll be needing to speak to Captain Jonathan Archer in about a month."

"And if you have a problem with ME, you'll need to talk to Captain Erika Hernandez in about a month."

Neither Sara nor Melody were sure that they were going to get the assignments on Enterprise or Columbia, so claiming that they had advanced knowledge of their assignments when they had no idea at all was a fairly major gamble, but one the two friends were willing to risk. To their immense delight, their gamble paid off as they watched Ensign Parker's face drained of color. Everyone knew she had been doing all she could to make herself look good enough to get on the crew of either the Enterprise or the Columbia…even stepping on the backs of other ensigns to do it.

"That was supposed to be MY assignment!" Ensign Parker screeched.

The words were out of Sara's mouth before she could stop herself. "Which one?" she asked. "The Enterprise or the Columbia?"

"It doesn't matter which one!" Ensign Parker raged. "One of those was supposed to be MY ASSIGNMENT! I was supposed to get one of those, not you two! When my mother hears about this…"

Before she could continue, Melody reached out with one of her crutches and pushed on Ensign Parker's forehead with the bottom of it, causing the flailing, raging ensign to fall over onto the grass. The other ensigns in the courtyard started laughing hysterically, and Ensign Parker looked like someone had kicked her puppy. Sara, for her part, looked shocked.

"I can't believe you just did that," she said, a note of pride in her voice.

"She was whining like a cow," Melody said with a shrug. "Where I come from, we tip cows. Come on, let's go get lunch." And the two walked away, leaving a courtyard full of laughter and one very shocked ensign behind them.


	12. May 10th, 2156 - Sara's New Beginning

**_I've known a wind so cold and seen the darkest days  
But now the winds I feel, are only winds of change  
I've been through the fire and I've been through the rain  
But I'll be fine_**

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

Lt. Commander Ingram looked up from her paperwork and smiled. "Have a seat, Ensign Rhodes."

Sara sat down in a chair in front of her commanding officer's desk. She had been in Jacksonville six months and was enjoying every minute of it. Still, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach when she was informed that the lieutenant commander wanted to see her. She couldn't help but wonder if someone had told Lt. Commander Ingram that it was she and her friend & colleague Ensign Melody Liebowitz who had the Anatomy Department's cadavers delivered to the medical luncheon.

"I have some news that may surprise you, Ensign Rhodes."

"Oh crap," Sara thought. "She knows about me and Melody and the cadavers…" "What would that be, ma'am?" she asked.

"You're being reassigned."

Sara blinked in shocked. "I don't mean to sound disrespectful, ma'am," she said. "But why?"

Lt. Commander Ingram smiled and handed Sara the PADD she was staring at. "Have a look for yourself."

Sara took the PADD from her commander's hands and read it. It was a request from Captain Jonathan Archer to have Ensign Sara Callahan Rhodes assigned to the Enterprise immediately. Sara was so shocked, she nearly dropped the PADD. "The Enterprise?" she said in shock as she handed the PADD back to Lt. Commander Ingram. "But how?"

"Doctor Phlox, the ship's doctor, recommended you to the captain," Lt. Commander Ingram said. "Apparently, when he met you some years ago in St. Augustine, you made a very favorable impression on him. And due to the recent increases in conflicts with the Romulans, all Starfleet ships are returning to Earth to pick up more personnel, including medical. Jonathan Archer takes personal recommendations into very serious consideration when it comes to his crew, and that along with your record prior to and since you've joined Starfleet made you a clear choice for him."

"I remember Doctor Phlox," Sara said with a grin. "I met him a little over seven years ago. He was visiting the hospital where I was working and my boys accidentally ran into him. I wasn't able to find daycare for them that day, so I had to bring them to the hospital with me, and they helped the volunteers bring water and food to the patients and also helped entertain some of the more elderly patients. I was looking for them to take them home, and they were at the front desk with him and some of the volunteers. He was quite entertaining, and a hell of a doctor, if you'll pardon the expression."

"Captain Archer included Phlox's personal recommendation along with his request," Lt. Commander Ingram said, pushing on the screen of her PADD a bit. "According to the doctor, you were "efficient," "knowledgeable," and "very warm & personable," as well as extremely dedicated to your job, all things that have been highly evident during your six months here. And your spotless disciplinary records don't hurt at all, either."

"I never thought the Enterprise would want me, though," Sara said. "They only take the best, and I'm far from the best."

"Doctor Phlox and Captain Archer seem to believe otherwise," Lt. Commander Ingram said with a smile. "You leave in a week." Lt. Commander Ingram dismissed her, and Sara walked out the door in a state of shock.

She'd been in Starfleet a little over a year, and while she had expected an assignment away from Jacksonville would come eventually, she had never expected that it would come so soon, nor that it would be on the flagship of the fleet. She sat down on a bench a little ways down the hall from the lieutenant commander's office and just stared at the wall for a few moments to process everything.

The Enterprise. In the middle of what was quickly becoming less of a conflict and more of a war. The Enterprise. Where Trip was. The thought of encountering her best friend's brother snapped Sara back to reality. She hadn't seen Trip since they were children, and had no idea what his reaction to her suddenly invading his territory would be. She hoped that it wouldn't be too awkward; she knew that she couldn't be as familiar with him as she had in the past, but she hoped that if they did form a new sort of friendship, it would be just as fun as the old one had been.

Sara smiled. Elizabeth would be bouncing off the walls right now if she were alive. For all Sara knew, somewhere in whatever afterlife there was, Andrew and her grandmother were currently attempting to stop Elizabeth from bouncing off the walls. Her kids would most certainly do the same thing when she told them.

Her kids. She would have to leave her children. Sara had prepared the children for the fact that she might have to leave and be gone for a very long time, which prompted the boys to put together a…well, Sara didn't know exactly WHAT her boys had put together, but they'd included their little sister and it was a surprise for Sara. She wasn't allowed to have it yet, but she supposed she'd be allowed to have it when she reached her new assignment.

"Well," Sara thought as she stood up and walked off to call her family. "Here goes nothing." As she walked away, she couldn't help but think back to a sunny day in a park over 27 years before and how her life had changed since then. The next adventure was most certainly beginning, and what an adventure she hoped it would be.

_"I think we are gonna be best friends, Sara."_

_"I think so too." _


End file.
